The Palace of Justice () is a set of courthouses and administrative buildings in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

. It is the location of sittings of the

Supreme Court of Latvia The Supreme Court of the Republic of Latvia () or the Senate of Latvia (''Latvijas Senāts'') is the highest level court in the three-tiered court system of Latvia. It deals with criminal, civil and administrative matters. Its oversight is determi ...

, of the

Cabinet of Ministers of Latvia The government of Latvia is the central government of the Republic of Latvia. The Constitution of Latvia () defines Latvia as a parliamentary republic represented by a unicameral parliament (Saeima) and the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republi ...

and the headquarters of the Ministry of Justice.

History

Senate

Between 1918 and 1940 the highest judicial power in Latvia was the Senate of Latvia ('' Latvijas Senāts''). The first section of the building was constructed between 1936 and 1938 as a new home for the Senate and the Ministry of Justice under the authoritarian regime of

Kārlis Ulmanis Kārlis Augusts Vilhelms Ulmanis (; 4 September 1877 – 20 September 1942) was a Latvian politician and a dictator. He was one of the most prominent Latvian politicians of pre-World War II Latvia during the Interwar period of independence from N ...

. The foundation stone was laid by War Minister

Jānis Balodis Jānis Balodis (20 February 1881 – 8 August 1965) was an army general, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Latvia (1919–1921), Minister of War (1931–1940), and a politician who was one of the principal figures during the Latvian War ...

and it was officially opened by Justice Minister Hermanis Apsītis. The building was not completed in full before the Second World War. The wing which today accommodates the Supreme Court was constructed during the Stalinist era.

Executive building

During the alternating Nazi and Soviet occupations the building was home to the Reich Commissariat and the Latvian SSR Council of Ministers. Since the 1990s the usual meeting place of the Cabinet of Latvia has been the old Senate chamber.

Location

The building is located on Brīvības bulvāris (''Freedom Boulevard'') at the triangular intersection of Elizabetes iela, Tērbatas iela (''

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

street'') and Brīvības. Next door is the Riga Regional Court (''Rīgas apgabaltiesa'').

External links

Palace of Justice at the Supreme Court of Latvia website

References

{{Riga Cityscape Neoclassical architecture in Latvia Buildings and structures in Riga Neoclassical palaces in Latvia Palaces in Vidzeme Government buildings completed in 1938